What does it look like to work with me?

Are you prepared to dive deep? Equipping yourself with education and preparation to be an active participant in your care? Then great, we will be a good team!

 
 

Meet Rachel

I practice with a physiology first approach. Your body is wonderfully capable of birth! If complications or interventions arise, I will be with you every step of the way. I specialize in physiologic birth and birth bio-mechanics (how your body works).

My goal is never to become the center of your birth. It’s to help create the conditions for you to do the work your body came here to do.

I trust you. I trust your body. I trust your baby.

Birth Values: Physiology, Personal Responsibility, Patience, Preparation, Education, Advocacy, Informed Choice and Continuity of Care.

Let's Meet
20220407_125742 Copy.JPG
IMG_0407 Copy.JPG
1000012176.jpeg
IMG_8526.JPG
IMG_9333.JPG
IMG_8200.JPG

My birth stories

 

  • I grew up listening to my mother talk about our births as if they were the best days of her life. (she had 4 unmedicated births). I didn’t fear birth and was confident in my body’s ability to accomplish the task. I thought I was prepared…I read some books and took a child birth education class, hired a doula and a midwife. I also greatly struggled with pain in my pregnancy. So much so that I could barely go for walks. Years as a dancer and music theatre professional had left me with back injuries and hyper mobile tendencies that left me very uncomfortable. I thought it was normal. (It’s not).

    Very long story short. I arrived to the hospital complete (10 cm dilated). This is typically the time when your baby is descending and you start to push. I continued to labor while being asked repeatedly "do you feel pushy?" How was I supposed to know?! I had never done this before. Was I supposed to be feeling pushy? Was something wrong by the fact that I wasn't? I quickly learned that labor, at least for me, is a time where I lose my voice. I am singularly focused on coping through contractions and have many thoughts in my head but I was unable to voice them. All those questions remained unspoken. I also learned that less distraction/stimulus greatly enhances my ability to cope. It is much easier to sink into labor land and let the waves of intensity rush over you. Sound. Breath. Movement. These were and are my best coping tools. 

    4 hours of coached pushing with still no urge to bear down (still unmedicated by the way) there was still no baby. He was happy as could be, his heart rate was always perfect. Pitocin and two vacuum attempts later, a cesarean was called. I was tired and ready to meet my baby, although it felt very strange to be wheeled into the OR for a baby that wasn't in danger. He was a large (9lb 4oz), mal-positioned baby that never finished his descent. 

    Postpartum was hard. Very hard. I knew I was at risk for postpartum anxiety from my life history and I was recovering from essentially two births. One labor with a long pushing phase, and one major abdominal surgery. My milk "never came in" and I was unable to breastfeed. I did not feel like a strong capable mother. I felt broken. My body had failed to birth and breastfeed as I expected. And I had not physically or mentally prepared for those various outcomes. 

  • After my first birth, I was slightly obsessed with figuing out what went "wrong." I threw myself into the birth world and read everything I could get my hands on. I learned A LOT. I became a doula and started supporting others on their birth journeys while taking every birth biomechanics training I could find to support my clients but also to educate and prepare myself for a future pregnancy. 

    I knew my next birth would be at home. There are many reasons why I believe this was a safe and sound decision but continuity of care is what I most craved. I wanted one provider to know my story, my goals, my normal, my baby's normal. I wanted the same midwife that cared for me prenatally to to attend my birth. And the only place that is offered, is at home. 

    I obsessively prepared (maybe too much). I had first hand experience in a labor and birth that did not go as planned. The Body Ready Method workouts, I believe, made the biggest impact in my pregnancy and birth experience. I diligently did the workouts 2-3x a week as well as saw a chiropractor and had no pain! I re-patterned my dysfunctional posture and gripping tendencies from many years of dance. I was mobile and could chase my toddler around. When the pain started to creep in, a BRM workout would make it virtually disappear. I monitored my blood sugar the entire pregnancy and followed Lily Nichols' diet for gestational diabetes. (I was determined to make a smaller baby). Learned about the physiology of breastfeeding and my options if I had supply issues again. I struggled with doubt and fear that this next birth would be a repeat of my first. I reached out to fellow birth workers for words of encouragement and was met with overwhelming love and trust in my ability to birth. 

    Long story short, once labor intensified it moved quickly and 30 minutes of mother-led pushing later, Jody was born in the water at home. I was undisturbed but held, blessedly ignored when I said I was done and to "take me to the hospital," reassured when I demanded proof that labor was working, and told I could when I said I couldn't. Redemptive doesn't even begin to describe it. I had made peace with a repeat cesarean if it was needed, but oh so grateful to experience a slippery warm baby being placed on my chest. And miraculously, I was able to breastfeed. (I did a lot of things differently to give myself a fighting chance, but was not expecting a full supply). Dear friends had packed my freezer with donated breast milk to get us through the first few weeks, and we didn't have to use it. Postpartum was still challenging, but there was so much joy. I very intentionally asked for help from others and was determined to honor my fourth trimester with rest, nourishment, and snuggles. Oh, and he was 8lb, 12 oz!

    • Birth is a rite of passage.

    • Continuity of care is powerful. 

    • Postpartum care, rest, and nourishment is vital. 

    • Undisturbed/mother-led pushing is incredible. Why are we always telling women what to do with their bodies when we aren't the ones birthing?

    • Big babies and/or suspected big babies CAN be born vaginally.

    • LISTEN to mothers and BELIEVE them. Many traumatic birth stories have come from women who were not listened to or believed during their labor and birth. 

    • There is A LOT we can do prenatally to prepare our bodies and minds for birth.

    • Prenatal pain is NOT necessarily normal. It is an invitiation to act and seek balance in our bodies.

    • VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) mothers are a FORCE! We know first hand that birth does not go "as planned" and are willing to put in the work and then go-with-the-flow on the big day. Balancing effort, preparation, fear, and acceptance.

    • Birthing at home with a skilled midwife is a SAFE and reasonable decision.

 
Make it

Physiologic Birth: “A process whereby the woman commences, continues, and completes labor with the infant being born spontaneously at term, in the vertex position, and without surgical, medical, or pharmaceutical intervention.”-ICM 

I am excited to be your guide through this incredible season of life! I promise to point you towards credible, evidence-based information, and more importantly, encourage your intuition.  I am passionate about informed choice, and your role as leader in your care journey. You truly know your body and your baby better than anyone else.​

Training & Certifications

Certifications